A/N: Wassup my lovelies~ Firstly, I just wanna give a shout out to all you reviewers because I truly, really appreciate them comments! Soooo, errbody knows Ichigo is on one heck of a ride, I'm pretty sure he's the one who's freaking out the most in the whole plot; that's why I'm focusing more on his views. Worry, you should not as I'm gonna go to Grimmjow's POV soon so please wait a while longerrr! Enjoy the show and make sure to leave your reviewwwsss~~ Saranghae!

The day after.

Ichigo couldn't sleep. He didn't feel the need to rest. Any time he tried to close his eyes, the scene would replay over and over. Kisuke had escorted him home. The weird-hat knew he was very much shaken by what they had just experience. All the more terrifying when the orange-hair realised that his lover was the one who did it. Kisuke had mentioned that he had sufficient information. Ichigo didn't know what else the blonde needed to know, but at that moment, he didn't give a flying fuck. What the hell just happened?

Currently, he was at work. More specifically, I.D's washroom. He was bent over the sink, the water running. He put his hands under the water, momentarily appeased by the shock of the cold water. He cupped some water and washed his face. Attempting to scrub away his fears and doubts. Ichigo had to continue life. He went out the office for a short break and passed by Nel's shop.

The store was miraculously open. He glanced at his watch. The cafe had just opened for the day. He couldn't stop himself from running into the shop. As he slammed the front door open, he was met with the same enthusiasm that he had missed so much. He embraced the woman in front of him. Shoving his face into her neck and her long sea-foam hair. The familiar scent of peppermint and coffee assaulted his senses. He gave no shits, he craved for this moment. Neliel hugged him like her life depended on it.

Honestly, there was no reason why. They had met a mere two weeks ago. However, below the surface, they knew that so many things had occured. So many emotions, so many questions and so many lies. They were still in their embrace, his face in her neck and her head on his shoulder. Her hands around his chest and his hands around her waist.

"Where is he, Nel?" Ichigo whispered in her ear, ever so silently. Praying that she could hear. Praying that she would tell him the truth.

"I don't know," it was a curt reply, it's true meaning actually concealed. To be more appropriate, I can't tell you was her real answer. Ichigo knew her long enough to understand the inclinations in her voice. She couldn't tell him, she would but she can't.

Ichigo understood and he kept silent. The quiet extended for a long minute. There was nothing that he could learn from her. He could only take her words for what they are. He still loved her. He knew that whatever she was hiding, it was for her own protection. And maybe, for her brother as well. Ichigo released her slowly. "I gotta go," he kissed her on the cheek, not willing to make eye-contact with her.

Ichigo walked slowly to the office. So many thoughts running in his head. He honestly didn't know what to do then. Back to work, I guess. The team was setting up the combination of clothes for the upcoming photoshoot. They had their store catalogue spread coming up so they had to come up with the pictures soon. The models were already pre-selected, obviously it was Ichigo for the male looks and Isane for the females. To be frank, it was a low-budget shoot but any good photographer could make a shitty photo into a magazine spread by manipulating the lighting.

For this particular sets of clothes, Ishida wanted the background to be a back alley, to attain more of a grunge fashion. So, here they were, at a relatively clean back alley, blocks away from the store. It was only him, Kotetsu and the photographer. They already spent near three hours, completing about eight combinations, approaching the end, it was a sunset shot. The whole atmosphere was pretty light, Ichigo was great at being professional. He shoved his worries at the back of his head.

The area was pretty quiet and there were not many passers-by. Considering it was nearer to the neighbourhood, not many people passed their location. It was a two-way back alley, recyclables lining up the walls. The brick walls were clean and the lighting from the sun was angled nicely. It was a good choice in that aspect where they were undistracted and more focused in getting their work done. Both the models weren't bothered in changing in public so Ichigo and Isane just changed in their van that was parked nearby. And considering both had seen each other all the time, there wasn't any awkwardness, work is just work. At that moment, Isane was posing next to Ichigo, the two of them were leaning on the brick wall.

"A little closer you two. Yeah, that's great," the photographer directed them into his preferred pose. They were all nearing the end so everybody was getting a little exhausted.

Ichigo began to notice the sound of footsteps and bustling. He thought to ignore it, knowing their space wasn't exactly too private. But there was an inkling of oddity(spidey senses are tinglin) when the noises kept circling around their area. That was when suddenly there were two grown men right across the street with baseball bats slinging on their shoulders. They had just came out of the opposite building. The one with the shady ass barred doors and windows. Ah fuck. This is not a good sign.

Isane and the photographer had noticed them too and immediately looked as each other, worried. Ichigo pulled them close; the two men were close by but not too far, approaching their area.

"You guys head on over to the van. I got this. I'll just talk to them." The both of them merely nodded in response, rushing to pack up and head back to the van. The thugs were getting closer. Anyone with a decent sense of sight could make out that those men were thugs. Scars and tattoos littered over their body, combat boots and weapons. Not exactly the image of a normal neighbourhood uncles.

Thankfully enough, the thugs walked in the moment the other two drove off. Almost as if they were purposely waiting for someone. Ichigo hid in the corner, behind the stack of cardboard boxes. They were clearly approaching.

"He said to get the orange-haired one...", "...two grand...", "who? Cuatro?" the redhead could hear the bits of the two men's conversation. Ichigo steeled himself and stepped out. It was better to confront them quickly before anything else goes wrong. The two thugs clearly wasn't expecting Ichigo to come out suddenly but the look on their faces was a sign that Ichigo was definitely the one they're looking for.

"You Ichigo?" The bald one on his right asked. Ichigo studied their faces and appearances. He had to get a clear look and report it to the police if the need arises. For now, he was praying. Hoping that it was nothing.

"Yeah. What d'ya want?" Ichigo curtly replied. There was no point lying to these goons. They might even tell him what they wanted and who was looking for him.

"You been in the underground? Messed up with el capitàn?" This time the left one questioned. The man had a mohawk with a scar running across his right eye. The both of them were wearing torn clothes and up close they had red tear-drops tattooed on each side of their face, strategically placed at the top of their cheeks. The face-tats were familiar, a gang tattoo. He had seen them on the many of the audiences in the underground. And if memory served him correctly, the gang were often referred to as hueco. Connecting one dot to another, he was guessing that 'the captain' was referring to Aizen.

"No?" he replied with hesitance in his voice. Please let it be the wrong person.

"Too bad, boy." The left one rushed over swinging his bat, aiming for Ichigo's stomach. Instincts on overdrive, he dodged the bat and kicked the man away. Being outnumbered, the one on the right came by his back and got him on the side of his right arm where he had raised it to protect himself. Ichigo could have sworn he heard something crack. As the left one stumbled back from the kick, Ichigo managed to punch the other one in the face a couple of times after dodging the other's attempts. Ichigo managed to lad a roundhouse kick at the man's face, feeling his own sneakers hit into the other man's eyes. The bald thug grabbed his face in pain, stepping off to the was clearly no way out in the fight, Ichigo had no choice to knock one of them out first. The thug with mohawk managed to recollect himself and began to rush in; Ichigo went low, sweeping his feet.

The man fell back with a loud thud and Ichigo rushed in towards the other man's hand where he had released the weapon that he was wielding. The orange haired youth grabbed the bat and swung it onto the man's chest with all his might, proceeding to hit the man on the head. There was no time to think of mercy as the need to defend himself was the priority. Ichigo didn't stop until the man stopped moving. And in that moment of weakness, he was tackled to the ground by the bald thug. Ichigo groaned at the feeling of a rib snapping as he was pushed down to the tar. The thug had him pinned to the ground and the large man managed to land some hits onto his face. The thug was sitting on his stomach with his full weight on the smaller man, using his size as an advantage. The man kept on landing punch after punch.

There was so much pain and he knew his nose and mouth were bleeding. Ichigo covered his face with his arms but the man attempted to pull them off. Just as the man wanted to reach onto his back for his own bat, Ichigo used the opening to push off the man with all his might. Lucky for him, the man lost his balance and Ichigo got the man off him. The man fell onto his back. Ichigo, not caring about the vertigo and the pain, immediately stood up and reached over to the aluminium bat that had rolled away. With a running start, Ichigo swung the bat towards the bald thug's head, satisfied as he heard the loud clang of the two things hitting each other. Taking no break, Ichigo swung the bat down again unto the man's mouth, not caring whether or not the man's conscious. He landed the last hit, closer to the nose and right where his front teeth sat. There was a lot of blood and the man stopped struggling. The two large thugs were unconscious on the tar. They were still breathing, Ichigo didn't know if he was fortunate or not. He was heavily breathing by then. He looked at his knuckles, they bled heavily and his clothes were bloodied. So much red. He stumbled back, his legs losing their strength.

As he felt his back reach the brick wall, he slid down. He couldn't sleep, he knew he shouldn't sleep. He tried not to. He tried so hard. There was nobody else nearby. Shit, I can't stand up. The urge to cry was so strong. Just as he wanted to lie down, he could hear the sounds of a siren. He closed his eyes, using the last of his energy to keep him sitting.

"SIR! SIR! ARE YOU OKAY? CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Fucking hell. The policeman was practically hollering in his ear. It was giving him the largest headache, adding on to the concussion that he probably was experiencing.

"I can hear you just fine. They attacked me. I'm in pain," Ichigo saw in his peripheral the other policemen surrounding the two thugs.

"We need an ambulance here. I repeat. We need an ambulance," he overheard one of the other cop speak into his walkie.

"It's okay. It's gonna be fine. You can rest now," and almost as if it was a trigger to hypnosis, everything went dark.

"I'm fine guys. Stop worrying," he was practically begging at this point. The people around him was fussing around and it was beginning to have a headache.

Yoruichi and Shinji were at his bedside, currently fighting on who got to bring him home. They glared at each other but immediately glared at him when he spoke.

"A fractured arm, a broken rib, bruising every inch of your body doesn't count as fine Ichigo! This old woman can't take of you!" Shinji was practically shouting in the private ward.

"Excuse me! Who the hell are you calling old woman, you blonde twink!" the purple-haired woman retorted, offended by that accusation. He could recollect her words clearly in his head, "I am a ageless, hairless creature of God Ichigo. Admire this beauty" as she stood naked at his living room.

"That's a fucking compliment, you dumb bimbo! Ichigo is coming with me!" Pretty sure the people outside the hospital could hear them. The orange-haired sighed, he didn't dare to intervene. He was too afraid that it would backfire and then the patient becomes the problem.

"No! He is coming back to my apart-" Yoruichi nearly jumped over the bed to reach out for the blonde when, "WWWOOOKKAYYY! Let's go! Nope not in front of the patient, please!" It was the pleasant intervention of the familiar weird-hat.

Thank you God. Urahara had barged him to drag the purple-haired landlord out by the waist while an elderly nurse dragged Shinji out by the ear. Blessed silence. Ichigo released a sigh of relief.

Knock. knock.

Ichigo groaned. It wasn't even three seconds of alone time. He looked over at the door. He couldn't help but smile. The smell of coffee and baked sweets began to fill the room. There was only an elegant outstretched hand, showcasing a place of pastries. But he knew who it was. "Hey Ichi!" the green-haired beauty popped her head in.

"Give me those pastries Nel!" Ichigo said as he made grabby hands towards her. Both of them just chuckling at each other. He missed this. He missed it so much.

Ultimately, the landlord was the voted the better caretaker, considering that she lives right below him and she was always there. Shinji had work to do and Ichigo didn't allow the blonde to miss work just to take care of him. Eventually, he was wheeled in a wheelchair into Kisuke's car towards his apartment. His injuries weren't too bad. The fracture was really minor so a week or two in the cast would be sufficient. And for the broken rib, he just needed to rest for a few weeks, making sure to do light duty. It was all pretty manageable for the orange-hair.

Currently, he was standing at the front of his door. The wooden surface almost looking unfamiliar considering how long he hadn't returned to his apartment. It'd been weeks at least when he last came back. He unlocked the front door to find the house exactly how he'd left it. He turned on the lights and breathed in the smell of his humble abode. It's so good to be back home. There wasn't any of his stuff that needed to be moved from the blonde's house. A lot of the items he used at Shinji's place were all sponsored from ID. Ichigo only needed his valuables which he was carrying in a plastic bag.

He placed the items down on the kitchen table and opened the fridge. Aaaandd it's empty. He made a mental note to text Yor to restock it and went towards the couch. He slumped onto it as slowly as he could. Grabbing the remote, he switched the TV on. The news was on and that shit was a lullaby. Just as he was about to doze off, the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" he lifted himself up slowly. The painkillers helped with controlling the pain but his muscles were still sore. He trotted to the front door and caught his reflection from the nearby wall mirror in the hallway. There was a cut on his lip, both his cheeks had bruises and there was a cut on his nose. Just with that short glimpse, he knew he looked terrible.

He opened the door. There was nobody standing out front. What? He looked at the side and his body stood still. Everything just stopped. He swore his heart stopped beating. He blinked once, twice and suddenly he was caught in an embrace that made his heart ache. He couldn't help but release the sadness that he held back. Tears rolled down uncontrollably and he shoved his face into the chest that held him.

Ichigo had kept it together for the longest time. It was second nature to him to put out this strong front, to disguise the weakness of sadness and loneliness. He hid his true feelings and for many many years, he used alcohol to relieve this pain that he held back. So many things had changed his life. So many, and in his heart, he knew it started off with a man. A man that he slowly began to trust; a man that made him believe in people again. This man cured the loneliness that he had outright believed he was sentenced to for the rest of his life. Stood in front of him, that man was embracing him. and Ichigo was finally able to let go the despair and frustration he had kept inside.

They stood there for at least five minutes. The blue-haired man's larger frame encompassing Ichigo's. The smell of pine and musk was a scent of comfort. Something he had missed for the longest. He didn't dare move. He was afraid that it would all disappear in a dream. He felt the arms around him move, rubbing his back. It moved all over his body, Ichigo knew the man was checking the injuries he got. Ichigo removed the arms that were embracing him and steeled himself. He finally peered upwards. And every single time, it just took his breath away. He stared into those eyes that shook his soul.

And as he made eye contact, he saw the sadness and guilt that overcame the other man. Grimmjow reached his palms to rest on the sides of his face. The calloused and huge palms were comforting. Never could he imagine that it could cause such harm. Ichigo wanted to looked away but Grimmjow held tight. The other man ran his thumbs over the bruise on his lip and they smoothed over the bruises that littered his face. Ichigo knew that expression. It was the face of someone who had wished he was there. Someone who knew that things could have been different.

"Stay with me." Ichigo tried his luck. He knew the man would say no. He knew the man would push him away. There was a pain in his chest, not due to the broken rib. But it was the pain of sorrow.

"Okay," Grimmjow whispered. Ichigo couldn't help but be stunned. He let himself be pulled into the house and slowly pulled in for a kiss. He nearly wanted to cry again. He closed his eyes and pushed into the kiss. Because he finally realised. He loved Grimmjow.

A/N: DUN DUN DDUUUUUUNNNN~~ Woooh this ain't the end people, much more excitement to coooommmee! Anw this fic is still unbeta'ed so I apologize for it being a bit rough to read! If any of ya'll are interested to help me out with beta editing, give me a DM and I'll def be able to crank out longer chapters! See you in the next one! *making it rain cookies*